Timestamps

@better-drizzle/timestamps keeps timestamp handling out of your services. It can manage timestamps in application code, or stay out of the way when your database already owns them via defaults, generated columns, or triggers.

Install

npm install @better-drizzle/timestamps

pnpm add @better-drizzle/timestamps

yarn add @better-drizzle/timestamps

bun add @better-drizzle/timestamps

Usage

import { better } from 'better-drizzle';
import { timestamps } from '@better-drizzle/timestamps';

const client = better(db, {
	schema,
	plugins: [
		timestamps({
			createdAt: 'createdAt',
			updatedAt: 'updatedAt',
			mode: 'app',
		}),
	],
});

Every option is optional. timestamps() with no arguments uses the defaults:

• createdAt: 'createdAt'
• updatedAt: 'updatedAt'
• mode: 'app'

Modes

mode: 'app'

The plugin fills timestamp columns before the database call:

const post = await client.posts.create({
	data: { title: 'Hello' },
});

post.createdAt; // Date
post.updatedAt; // Date

mode: 'database'

The plugin becomes a no-op — use it when the database owns timestamps (column defaults like DEFAULT now(), ON UPDATE, triggers, or generated values):

timestamps({ mode: 'database' });

In this mode it adds effectively zero runtime behavior; the database stays the source of truth.

Custom column names

timestamps({
	createdAt: 'created_at',
	updatedAt: 'updated_at',
});

Behavior details

• Models missing the configured columns are skipped automatically.
• It only mutates write payloads — reads, filters, and result shapes are untouched.
• Works the same for single writes, batch writes, and upserts.